Ricky Ponting is confident of his team winning the Mumbai Test and ending the series as it began -- on a victorious note.
Australia's skipper himself has a point to prove in India, where he scored 17 runs at an average of 3.4 on his last trip, in 2001, when the hosts pulled off a 2-1 series triumph despite losing the first Test in Mumbai in less than three days.
"I've prepared well for India and wanted to have good series as a batsman. I was disappointed that I missed out because of the thumb [injury], but I've finally got my chance," he said on the eve of the fourth Test, on Tuesday.
He said the final eleven will be named on the morning of the match.
"We have not yet decided on the team yet. A few guys are getting over a flu type thing, so we will be monitoring that all day before taking a final decision. Glenn McGrath hasn't bowled the last few days, but we are sure that he will be fit. We are not going to rest any players. We are going to play the best eleven," added Ponting.
He agreed with his Indian counterpart, Rahul Dravid, about the condition of the pitch and felt it would take turn early.
"The wicket though looks dry and the ball should go through the top later. So the decision we need to take at this point centres mainly around the bowling attack. Do we play three seamers or two spinners?"
With the series in the bag the Aussies have been known to let their motivation levels drop and often lost a 'meaningless rubber'. But Ponting is sure nothing of the sort will happen.
"The thing about this Australian team is that individual players motivate themselves. We had a meeting yesterday [Monday] morning to see what we have achieved on this tour so far. But that's done and we have put that behind us. Now we are concentrating on the fourth game. We have had a relatively easy training session here as we feel our skills in these conditions are not going to get any better and we are well-acclimatized.
"We have been at the receiving end here a few times, and I think the guys would be keen to finish off the series the way we started," Ponting said.
Ponting, who missed the first three Tests, will also take over the captaincy for the match.
"I probably felt sorry for [Adam] Gilchrist when he took on the captaincy. I felt like I was putting a whole lot of load on his shoulders. He would have to keep, bat and captain as well. But, as we can see, he handled things pretty well."
The main difference between India and Australia, Ponting felt, was the ability to maintain pressure for long periods of time.
"Our seamers executed really well. India have done it on occasions but were unable to do it consistently enough for long periods. We'll just stick to our plan and try to go home with another Test in the bag."
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